There Their They're: The Homonym Quiz

A homonym is one of two or more words that are pronounced the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. There are more than you think — maybe even over 9,300! How does your homonym knowledge stack up? Take our (hour?) quiz and see (sea?)!

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Question 1 of 30

When a baseball player hits a home run, he runs all the way around the ...

bases

Players run the "bases," though the word actually comes from the Latin word basis, meaning "base or pedestal."

basis

basses

Question 2 of 30

Which describes a loop of rope?

byte

bite

bight

It's "bight," which comes from the Old English word byht, meaning "bend or angle."

Question 3 of 30

_____ best off choosing which homonym to complete this sentence?

you're

You're is a contraction that combines the words "you" and "are."

your

yore

Question 4 of 30

What might be a demolition crew's favorite homonym?

rays

raze

To "raze" means to completely destroy. It shares its origin with the word "razor," which makes sense if you think of a razor as a hair bulldozer.

raise

Question 5 of 30

This is a type of African antelope.

new

knew

gnu

"Gnu" is it, even though it doesn't look anything like its homonyms. The word probably comes from the sound the creatures make when they're startled. Who knew?

Question 6 of 30

The first and eighth notes of a major scale are …

do

The answer is "do." "A deer, a female deer" is actually a "doe" — we're looking at you, "The Sound of Music."

doe

dough

Question 7 of 30

Which is a synonym for wharf?

cay

key

quay

That would be "quay," a pretty obvious rip-off of the French word quai, which also means wharf.

Question 8 of 30

The man paddled the boat with an ...

or

oar

The word "oar" has Danish and Norwegian roots. Makes sense — those Vikings sure were into rowing boats!

ore

Question 9 of 30

She had to ______ over her textbooks and notes in order to prepare for the test.

pour

pore

This one's tricky — the answer is "pore." It's tempting to use "pour," but that word is mostly reserved for a stream of liquid.

poor

Question 10 of 30

These are used to steer a horse.

reigns

rains

reins

"Reins" are what you'd need for a horse. This is also the spelling used in the phrase "free rein," which describes a freedom of action.

Question 11 of 30

I just couldn't get interested in that documentary about rocks; it was a real …

bore

If it's not interesting, it's a "bore." Another homonym for these words is "Boer," a South African of Dutch descent.

boar

boor

Question 12 of 30

You know that little mark a proofreader uses to insert words (it looks like this: ^)? That's called a …

carat

caret

It may look a little like a "carrot," but the word for it is "caret."

carrot

Question 13 of 30

Which describes something not in use?

idyll

idol

idle

"Idle" comes from the Old English idel, meaning empty or useless; the Dutch ijdel, meaning vain, frivolous or useless; and the German eitel, meaning bare or worthless. Any way you slice it, the word doesn't seem to be a compliment!

Question 14 of 30

_____ coming from _____ house over _____.

there, their, they're

their, they're, there

they're, their, there

The correct order is "they're, their, there." Three in one sentence — that's homonym level: expert.

Question 15 of 30

This book is a little too long. I think the author could _____ down some of the chapters.

pare

"Pare" comes from the Latin word parare, meaning prepare. Food preparation often involves peeling vegetables or trimming meat, which is why the word "pare" came to mean "reduce."